"Consistently
open, detailed midrange and treble. 'AIR!' say my listening notes enthusiastically."
"While the Helix cables weren't adding anything...they were removing something: a
layer of noise that other cables were translating as warmth or fullness or some other
(often slight) added anomaly." "There is one potentially controversial area of
Shunyata cables' performance: the bass, which sounded less weighty than that of the other
cables I had been using."

Features

"The Antares
Helix interconnects use nine individual conductors to create a 14AWG cable.
Conductors are "certified CDA-101 copper" and cryogenically treated by
Shunyata Research . The Orion Helix speaker cables use 16 CDA-101 cryogenically
treated conductors to create a 7AWG cable." "Shunyata's Helix geometry is
patented and so complex to create that it has to be done by hand. There is no cache of
Helix cable from which interconnects or speaker cables are made, no machine that can
re-create it."

Use

"If you hear
these cables, be sure you can devote some time to them; you might even borrow them from
your dealer a couple of times."

Value

Not cheap due to
their handmade nature, but "in many ways [Marc's] very favorite cables."

In case you haven't noticed, Shunyata Research
has become a going concern in high-end -- and professional -- audio. Caelin Gabriel's
three years of R&D for what became his PowerSnakes line of power cords began showing
rewards in 1998, and Shunyata Research was established. Shortly thereafter, Caelin and
Grant Samuelsen, Shunyata's director of marketing, began to build their business the
old-fashioned way, by supporting brick-and-mortar retailers and ridding their dealer base
of Internet sellers. All along, the cornerstone of Shunyata Research, which now employs 20
full-time staff, has been its power products -- the unique power cords and well-known
Hydra power conditioner. My system is rarely playing music without them.

A few years ago, Caelin began development on a
line of interconnects and speaker cables, producing many prototypes before introducing his
earliest signal-carrying cables. I heard some of those first efforts. Their warmish glow
was pleasant, but they didn't equal the performance level of Shunyata's power products,
which had reached reference status among audiophiles. Later on, I heard Shunyata's Aries
interconnects along with Lyra and Andromeda speaker cables. Those cables slugged it out
with pricier competition and began to shift Shunyata's acclaim from its power cords and
conditioners.

Earlier this year, Caelin Gabriel visited me and
brought with him a new interconnect and speaker cable -- "just for listening."
These had relatively large diameters and were covered in a nondescript black mesh,
resembling Shunyata power cords more than any interconnects or speaker cables I've seen. Ho
hum, I thought to myself, until Caelin showed me a length of what the mesh was hiding:
a series of wires intricately woven around air tubes. If looks could translate to sound,
these cables would certainly be interesting -- their geometry was unlike any I'd seen.

We put the cables into my system and did some
listening. After Caelin left, I listened some more, and then later on let Grant Samuelsen
know that I would be writing about these cables, the Antares Helix and Orion Helix.
What I was hearing shouldn't be kept a secret.

Understanding Helix

Helix speaker cables and "signal
cables," as Shunyata Research calls its interconnects, have been around for a while,
but the top-of-the-line Antares Helix and Orion Helix were introduced at CES 2005. A few
months later at CEDIA, Shunyata debuted matching power cords, rounding out its
power-to-signal Helix lineup.

Shunyata's Helix geometry is
patented and so complex to create that it has to be done by hand. There is no cache of
Helix cable from which interconnects or speaker cables are made, no machine that can
re-create it, which means that every Shunyata Helix cable is braided by a human being to
length. I'm sure that this accounts for a fair amount of the cables' cost. (If there's
such a thing as tedium pay, it's due the people doing the braiding.)

As Shunyata Research's website correctly points
out, "All wires have an inherent resistance, inductance and capacitance." Some
have postulated that the differences we hear among audio cables boil down to the ratio of
these three values to each other. Shunyata Research developed the Helix geometry, which
utilizes "Multiple counter-rotating conductors with an offset helix
geometry," to minimize all three values. Helix does this by using "wide
separation and 90-degree crossing angles to the conductors, which minimizes capacitance.
The unique counter-rotating helices that are longitudinally offset create disparate EFF
(electromagnetic flux fields) that minimize inductive reactance."

...and Orion Helix speaker cables

The Antares Helix interconnects
($1995 per meter pair) use nine individual conductors to create a 14AWG cable. Conductors
are "certified CDA-101 copper," which the US Department of Energy refers to as
"pure copper," and cryogenically treated by Shunyata Research. Terminations are
Eichmann RCAs that also use CDA-101 copper or Neutrik XLRs with silver pins. The Orion
Helix speaker cables ($4995 per eight-foot pair) use 16 CDA-101 cryogenically treated
conductors to create a 7AWG cable.

The interconnects and speaker cables are thick
but rather supple and easy to work with, even in tight spaces. Their hand-braided nature
creates some slight abnormalities -- the interconnects are not perfectly straight, as
though they were simply pulled off a spool, cut and terminated. There are very slight
kinks here and there, reminding their owner that they are handmade from beginning to end.
There aren't too many audio products of any kind to which this applies. Shunyata Research
also makes two lower-priced Helix speaker cables and one less-expensive Helix interconnect
-- all of which are made by hand.

Review system

Because I have had the Antares Helix and Orion
Helix for much longer time than is usual, I used them with an especially broad range of
equipment. Our normal review cycle doesn't allow such a leisurely pace, but this extended
review period turned out to be a very good thing, as you will read. I used Antares Helix
and Orion Helix for a few extended periods and a number of shorter ones, making sure I put
enough signal through them each time to ensure break-in.

Speakers were Wilson Audio Alexandria X-2s and
MAXX 2s along with Silverline Sonatina IIIs and Merlin TSM-MMs -- two large floorstanders,
one smallish floorstander and a minimonitor. Driving the speakers were Lamm ML2.1 SET and
M1.2 Reference hybrid monoblocks, along with a Blue Circle BC204 hybrid stereo amp.
Preamps were a VTL TL-7.5 or Audio Research Reference 3. Sources were an Audio Research
CD3 Mk II CD player, an Esoteric X-01 CD/SACD player, and a Zanden Model 5000
Signature/Model 2000 Premium DAC/transport combo connected with a Zanden I2S
digital cable. Power cords for most of the review period were from Shunyata Research --
Anaconda VX and Alpha, older Taipan and Python -- but I also used a number of the new ESP
The Essence Reference power cords near the end of my evaluation time. A Shunyata Hydra
Model-8 provided power to all of the electronics. Preamps, DAC and integrated digital
sources sat on a pair of Michael Green Designs racks, while the Lamm ML2.1s rested first
on Silent Running Audio VR3.0 isoBases and then on SRA Ohio Class XL+ platforms. The
Zanden digital gear sat on a pair of Harmonic Resolution Systems M3 isolation bases.

The Helix code

Whenever the Shunyata Antares Helix and Orion
Helix cables were in my system, I noted the consistently open, detailed midrange and
treble. "AIR!" say my listening notes enthusiastically. This was something of a
surprise, given the golden-hued sonics of the earlier Shunyata cables I had used. I then
set about discerning exactly what was happening to make such an impression. The first
thing I considered was the most obvious: that the Shunyata Helix cables emphasized the
treble and midrange. I played lots of piano and percussion, and I didn't note any
highlighting or added energy. Perspective remained unchanged, my system maintaining a
truly neutral signature -- neither forward nor laid-back, neither lean nor full, neither
cold nor warm. The music, and the soundstage it created, simply seemed more delineated,
not in a chiseled way but rather in a way that individual instruments sounded more vivid.
Soundstage width and especially depth were impressive as well.

Where was all this coming from? If there wasn't a
tonal shift, something else had to be happening. Because I knew the review was still a way
off, I decided to listen over the course of a few weeks without paying attention to the
sound; a number of new CDs helped in this endeavor. Then one afternoon, as I was listening
to Buena Vista Social Club [World Circuit/Nonesuch 79478-2], a CD I know well, I
made a discovery. While the Helix cables weren't adding anything -- as I had figured out
earlier -- they were removing something: a layer of noise that other cables were
translating as warmth or fullness or some other (often slight) added anomaly. It took an
especially spacious-sounding recording for me to understand this, but there it was.

By "noise" I don't mean anything
obvious such as a static-like grit or scratchy grain; rather, this is more like what you
see when you mix a few drops of oil into a glass of water. A very fine sonic film that
seemed to coat every note was greatly reduced or absent. I heard a similar effect with the
ultra-expensive Siltech Signature Generation 6 cables I reviewed last year; it was no less
there with the Shunyata Helix cables, but their underlying sound seemed less pronounced,
less sweet, than that of the Siltech cables, so it was more difficult to distinguish.

The lack of this noise made for music that
sounded more distinct -- with greater solidity and presence, but not due to some tonal
trick. Tina Brooks's True Blue [Blue Note 63373] is still a sought-after eBay find
on vinyl, but the new Rudy Van Gelder remastered CD will appease audiophiles who don't
want to pay big bucks for the LP. I listened to this CD a number of times with the
Shunyata cables in my system, and while the thinness and increased output level of many
RVG remasters were still there (they define the sonics of the entire RVG series), the
music emerged with poise and authority that made me take notice, even after hearing this
CD many times. Using Lamm electronics and Wilson Audio speakers certainly helped the
presentation, but I had the distinct feeling that the Shunyata cables were at home with
these ancillaries, their equal in so many ways.

Vocals glowed with lucidity and directness, yet
were missing no presence or punch. Some cables I've heard do a similar thing, but also
alter the balance of the presentation. This wasn't the case with the Helix cables, which
separated fleshed-out vocals from the instruments surrounding them, illuminating the sound
of both in the process. I have a handful of Cassandra Wilson CDs, but I listen almost
exclusively to three: Blue Light 'Til Dawn [Blue Note 81357], New Moon Daughter
[Blue Note 32861] and Belly of the Sun [Blue Note 35072]. All three rely on
Wilson's ability to re-see a song, creating eclectic interpretations that are uniquely her
own. The sound of all three CDs is very good as well. I remember listening to
"Wichita Lineman" from Belly of the Sun, a cut I've heard many times, and
thinking that I was hearing Wilson's voice in its most elemental form -- all dusky
subtlety and control of breath -- her essence as a jazz vocalist revealed. Part of
Wilson's charm is the songs she picks; most of the Antares Helix's and Orion Helix's charm
is their ability to clarify, separating the signal from the noise that otherwise clings to
it.

There is one potentially controversial area of
Shunyata cables' performance: the bass, which sounded less weighty than that of the other
cables I had been using. Over the course of time, however, it made the low frequencies of
those same cables sound somewhat soggy and smeared -- not nearly as resolved and able to
track variations in pitch or the differences among instruments playing in the same range.
After much study, I was sure that bass depth wasn't affected -- the Helix cables go
as low as any I've heard -- but I wouldn't say that the bass from the Shunyata cables had
quite the same density and panache as from the networked cables I've used or the Siltech
Signature Generation 6es.

You'll have to make the call on this one for
yourself; I listened to a great deal of music with the Shunyata cables, and when I swapped
them with another set, I would miss their airy delineation and rarely notice their bass. I
also asked the inevitable question: Which is correct? The greater weight along with the
slight softness and smearing, or the lighter, cleaner low frequencies? I don't know the
answer, mostly because I found the entire performance of the Antares Helix and Orion Helix
satisfying -- and therefore impossible to dismiss.

Siltech and Shunyata

Because both Shunyata Research and Siltech
believe in the efficacy of conductors crossing at 90-degree angles, comparing the Antares
Helix and Orion Helix to the latest Siltech Classic-series cables makes sense. Siltech
cites noise, or a reduction thereof, for their geometry, which, if you've read this far,
you know also happens to be a characteristic of the Shunyata Helix cables. I used pairs of
Siltech SQ-110 Classic Mk 2 interconnects ($2600 per meter pair) and LS-188 Classic Mk 2
speaker cables ($5800 per eight-foot pair) during the time I also used the Shunyata
cables, so I was able to compare the two sets of cables directly, a couple of times
listening to one in the morning and the other in the afternoon.

I praised the Siltech Classic cables for sounding
"full and sweet while displaying a detailed and spacious presentation," but I
also pointed out that they have a more "overtly mellow character" than the
pricey Siltech Signature Generation 6 interconnects and speaker cables about which I have
also written. Even so, I have turned to the Siltech Classic Mk 2 cables time and again
because I enjoy the music they help make. Yes, I can analyze and characterize them, but
they sound so good that once the reviewing is done, I simply admire and enjoy them.

Fullness, sweetness and mellowness are not
characteristics of the Antares Helix and Orion Helix, which sound more truly neutral --
not the washed-out, gauzy sound that so many audiophiles mistake for neutrality. Both the
Siltech and Shunyata cables have a sense of composure about their performance, but they
come to it in different ways, the Siltech Classic Mk 2 cables through their sweetness and
the Shunyata Helix cables from their removal of noise. These traits greatly influence the
overall sound of the respective sets of cables, with the Shunyata cables sounding more
like direct conduits between components.

I rely on my memory when I say that the wildly
expensive Siltech Signature interconnects and speaker cables are the very best I've used,
but I can say with surety that I would choose Shunyata Helix over Siltech Classic Mk 2. It
wouldn't be an easy choice, and I'm sure there would be times when I would wish for the
sound of Classic Mk 2, but there you have it.

Concluding thoughts

Shunyata Research's Antares Helix and Orion Helix
are conundrums. Their reduction in noise makes for some wonderful reproduction, yet their
presentation is different enough from the sound of other cables to make you wonder if what
they are doing is wholly accurate. I am convinced that for some listeners, they will sound
utterly right from the very beginning, while for others they will take some getting
used to, which won't happen in a quick in-store demo or perhaps even over a weekend at
home. Therefore, if you hear these cables, be sure you can devote some time to them; you
might even borrow them from your dealer a couple of times. I am grateful that I had months
with them and was able to insert and remove them at will. Both of these things helped me
understand and appreciate their performance.

In many ways, the Antares Helix and Orion Helix
are my very favorite cables, especially in the way they free the music from the noise of
the reproduction chain. Even as I write this review, I am still sorting out their
low-frequency performance. Is it a bona fide issue or the product of the cables' unique
handling of noise? I think it's the latter, but for some listeners it may be the former.

No matter -- give the innovative Antares Helix
and Orion Helix some heavy time in your system and see if they do it for you as they have
for me.